The Insanely Cool Jared Kleinman
by Fallinginaforest
Summary: Jared realizes that he should probably gold back a little with all of his innuendos and bitchy comments. Not to mention the fact that he wants to make Evan a real friend, not just a family friend. And then Jared finds out that Evan has been becoming friends with the Murphy's and wants in on the friendship, even if that means he'll have to deal with Connor.


All he had to do was say something nice. That's what Jared was trying to accomplish. Year after year, he had been, well, not nice to Evan. And year after year he had regretted it. But something in him made it almost impossible to be nice to the kid in a striped shirt.

"H-hey." Evan says, after approaching Jared, who can tell that Evan has just as much anxiety as always, but at least not more than usual. Which is good. All Jared has to do is not give him anymore anxiety.

"What's up, acorn?" Jared asks as his way of playing it cool, using his rude nickname for Evan, which doesn't exactly help the whole "being nice" thing.

"You said you would give me a ride home, so I j-just thought that-" Evan began, but Jared cut him off.

"Shh. Of course I'm still giving you a ride, I just was asking how you were." Jared says, climbing into his vehicle. With this, Jared was trying to coach himself into believing that he can start his quest of niceness, by calling himself insanely cool and awesome and other things of the sort in his head.

"Oh. Cool." Evan says, and climbs in the passenger seat, notably taking a deep breath, probably in fear of Jared's… Driving skills.

"You still haven't answered me," Jared persists, acting as if he doesn't notice Evan's wary glance.

"Oh, r-right. I'm the same as always." Evan answers, tapping his fingers on the side of the car door.

"Very descriptive." Jared says, hoping it comes off as a joke. But to Evan, nothing ever seems to, which definitely doesn't help Jared's case.

"S-sorry." Evan says as a reply, making Jared shake his head quietly. Maybe he should bring up something that would calm Evan?

"So how's the whole you-and-Zoe thing going?" Jared asks, instantly regretting it even though it does just that, so maybe he shouldn't regret it.

"Honestly, I don't think it's going to end the way I thought it would. We're better as friends." Evan says, surprising Jared to the point that he almost doesn't see the light turn red, making him suddenly slam on the break. Instantly, his reflexes shoots his right arm out to the side, so Evan doesn't go flying forward. Okay so maybe Evan wasn't wrong to question Jared's driving "ability."

"You think what? It's not?" Jared asks, trying to play it cool even though he totally just soccer-momed Evan.

"I just don't see it heading towards a relationship like I used to." Evan says, not commenting on the mishap even though he does appear even more wary about Jared's driving. "We're just not the perfect match."

"Good!" Jared accidentally explains, and tries to salvage his self-respect by clearing his throat and saying, "I mean, I told you it wouldn't work out anyway. But why?" With this, Jared becomes hopeful and most likely seems too interested in Evan's answer. _Wait. Hopeful of what?_

"It's a long story." Evan explains, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Besides, why were you always so mean about the Zoe thing anyway?"

"Saying it's a long story is just an excuse." Jared says in an almost serious tone. "I don't know. I guess I just knew it wouldn't work out." Or maybe he was just jealous. Sometimes he confused even himself with those things.

"That's the point, I was trying to make an excuse." Evan replies quietly.

"Oh." Jared says, uncomfortable with the fact that Evan was hiding something from him. For the next few minutes, the two ride in complete silence, both seeming to be thinking things through.

"Jared, are we friends?" The boy in the passenger seat wonders after a while.

"Family friends." Jared immediately says, and hates himself for it. Dammit. _Why the hell couldn't he have just said yes?_ "I mean, technically we are friends."

Anyone could tell that Evan was hoping for a different response, because his head begins to hang slightly lower, and starts playing with the zipper on his jacket.

"Why?" Jared asks, knowing that that would've been the end of the conversation if he hadn't. And he wasn't ready for their talking to end yet.

"O-oh. No reason. I was just-" This time Jared hadn't cut off Evans speech, but regardless, Evan didn't finish his sentence.

"Just what?" Jared repeats, not expecting an answer, and doesn't get one.

Suddenly, Jared pulls up into the Hansen driveway, and stares at Evan expectantly.

"What?" Evan asks, still looking down and not realizing where they were.

"We're at your house. Get out." Jared says, pushing up his glasses slightly, hoping that wasn't too rude. But there's no way it could've been taken as anything other than just that. _How about next time you say "We're here" or something nicer, Kleinman._

"S-sorry." Evan says, scrambling to escape the car. "Thank you."

"Anytime Hansen, anytime." Jared whispers just after Evan shuts the door. Then, he bangs his hand against the steering wheel. "Damn it." He can't even have a conversation with Evan without coming off as a jerk.


End file.
